


Uppercut

by mcrhomo



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boxing, Alternate Universe - College/University, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Eating Disorders, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-07-29 06:16:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20077516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcrhomo/pseuds/mcrhomo
Summary: Frank is dealing with a lot in his life, including body dysmorphia. When he signs up for a boxing class to lose weight, he meets Gerard, and his whole life is turned several different ways (for better and for worse).





	1. meeting.

**Author's Note:**

> aaa this fic has been in the works since like january? i had it posted on another site but that site was not very active so im posting it here haha...

Frank was in college majoring in science with an emphasis in criminal justice, which is a fancy way of saying forensic analyst. Now, I’m sure you know all about college. College students eat what they can afford, which isn’t saying much. What I’m trying to say is that they eat a lot of junk food. Ramen, microwave food, fast food, you know the drill. Pretty much every student in the school had a little bit of chubbiness, and no one was judging anyone for it. But Frank? Oh, everytime he looked in the mirror all he saw was a bag of lard. He never ate in front of his friends so they wouldn’t see him as fat. 

One afternoon, he was getting a sandwich from the cafeteria, fully knowing he would hate himself for eating it, when he stopped for a moment to look at the bulletin board where everyone put their ads. He saw someone’s Snapchat username, an ad for a maid service, and other things that weren’t that worth noting. He was about to leave when a bright yellow business card caught his eye. 

That’s it! He thought. That’s the solution to my problems!

\------

About a week later, when it opened, Frank headed to the other side of town to his destination. He pulled into the parking lot and noted the bright yellow banner outside that read “BOXING.” What was their obsession with bright yellow? He thought. 

He got out of his 2003 Toyota Corolla and walked over to the warehouse looking building next to it. A man who was talking with what looked like the coaches walked over to him. He held out his hand. “What’s up?”

“Hey.” Frank said in return, shaking his hand. He noticed that he was shorter than this man. Not short enough for it to be important, but short enough for it to be noticable. 

“I’m Gerard. I’m the owner of this place. I’ll also be coaching the adult newcomers, which includes you. I mean, unless you’re secretly ten years old.”

Frank chuckled at that one. “I’m Frank. And I can assure you, I’m nineteen, not ten.”

“So what brings you here?” Gerard said. “You look healthy for a...growing boy of your age.”

“I saw your ad on the bulletin board on campus. Looking to lose a little weight, as I am…” Frank motioned toward his body. “Quite large.”

Gerard raised an eyebrow. “If you think so.”

\------

“Green means go. At your own pace, just go.” Gerard was talking to a group of adults of all shapes and sizes about the light buzzer. 

“Now, yellow is my favorite. I like to call it ‘all-you’ve-got yellow.’ Go without stopping, fluid motions, as fast as you can.” Some of the group’s faces got nervous looking at the mention of “fast.”

“Red is simple. Red is your break time. Water, conversation, whatever. Do with it what you want. Any questions?”

They all shook their heads. 

“Good. Now wrap your hands and get to work.” Frank reached into his duffel bag and grabbed the things that looked like ace bandages. He suddenly went white. He had no idea how to wrap hands. Everyone else looked like they either knew or had glove wraps instead of the bandage looking ones. Was he going to ask Gerard for help? No, he thought. He could figure it out. 

He spent the next three minutes and thirty seconds, counted by the light buzzer, trying to wrap his hands. When it went to red, Gerard almost immediately ran over to him. “For pete’s sake, Frank, you could’ve asked for help.” He grabbed Frank’s wrist and there seemed to be a jolt of electricity. They both felt it. They both looked at each other, blushed, and looked down at Frank’s hands. 

“Okay. Just so you know, you need to give support to your wrists and knuckles. Never go in between your fingers like you were doing.” Gerard was trying to hide that his face looked like a tomato, but he failed.

Frank looked up at Gerard. He only saw how perfectly his long red hair framed his face. Angelic. That was the only word Frank could use to describe him. 

Gerard finally strapped down the second handwrap. “Get to work, Frank.”

Frank was almost done with his second round of shadowboxing when Gerard came up behind him. “After this, get your gloves on and come up into the ring with me.” Frank simply nodded. 

Frank got his green boxing gloves on and stepped up into the ring, where Gerard was holding a pair of mitts. Frank had never dealt with those, but he guessed they were for him to hit. 

“Okay.” Gerard said. “I don't want you to be powerful yet. That comes later. For now, I want you to be quick, and accurate. You have a small frame, so agility should come easily to you.”

Frank made a face of confusion. Small?

“Okay. Let’s try one.” Frank swiftly punched Gerard’s right mitt with his left hand. 

Wow. Frank thought. That felt...good. 

“Two.” Frank hit with his right hand this time, and harder. 

“Right hook.” There was a snap this time when Frank hit the mitt. The pure euphoria he got from hitting it, he could almost feel the stress leaving his body with every move.

The buzzer turned yellow and Gerard said, “Six and seven. Six and seven for the last thirty seconds.”

Frank threw fluid, quick body punches for thirty seconds straight. The buzzer turned to red. 

Gerard was impressed. He definitely was a lot stronger than he looked.


	2. low fuel.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank is invited to watch a tournament. They run into a problem.

It was about a month later, in February. Frank had just gotten done with his workout, and Gerard jogged over to him. 

"We have a tournament going on this weekend," he said, handing Frank a flyer. "Obviously you're not going to compete, but I'd like for you to come." 

"Sure." Frank said. He started taking off his gloves and unwrapping his hands. While he was focused, Gerard stared at him. He looked tough, but Gerard knew him well enough to know he wasn't. He was the softest. Yet the way he scowled when he concentrated could scare any stranger away. When he wasn't concentrating, though, he was cute. Gerard notices a lot of cute people, but Frank was unique. 

He had spent the last month trying to convince himself he wasn't in love with Frank, but he wasn't fooling anyone. Especially not himself.

He knew he didn't have a chance with Frank, he was probably straight and attractive enough to have a girlfriend. That fact still didn't stop him from staying up at night thinking about him. Immature, he thinks. It was immature of him to be in love with a college sophomore he only saw an hour a day. 

\------

That weekend, Gerard drove both of them to the hotel where they were holding the tournament. They grabbed drinks, but only drinks since Frank was ashamed to eat in front of Gerard. He didn't say that though, he just said he "wasn't hungry."

He was ashamed to eat in front of anyone, but he was especially ashamed to eat in front of Gerard. He couldn't place why. 

They saw the kids spar. One teenager got a bloody nose. Then they saw the adults do the exact same thing. Except without the bloody nose. 

Gerard didn't want to break the boxers' concentration, so he whispered into Frank's ear. 

"Notice," Frank could feel a chill down his spine. "Notice how he's moving. He's rocking and using his rhythm to his advantage. You should learn to do that too. Crazy how I was the one who taught him, huh?" 

Frank nodded. 

\------ 

Soon the tournament was over, and Frank wasn't feeling too good. Gerard held Frank's forearm and traced his fingers across it. "Look, you're all hexed up. Are you hypoglycemic? When was the last time you ate?"

"Uh, I don't think I am. I ate a peanut butter sandwich last night." 

"Christ, Frank! It's ten o'clock at night, and you're telling me you haven't eaten all day?!"

"I'm sorry."

"I'll walk you home and make you something to eat. You may faint at any second." Frank didn't doubt that. 

They got to Frank's dorm, and hopefully his roommate, Ray, would be out with his band or whatever. But he wasn't. 

Frank was losing consciousness at this point. Gerard grabbed the key that Frank had given him earlier and tried to unlock the door with one hand, since the other was wrapped around Frank's waist. Soon, Ray walked in the hallway. He noticed a guy he didn't know trying to get into his dorm, so obviously he was a little confused.

"Hey, what are you-" he noticed Frank. "Whoa, Frank?" He looked over at Gerard and said, "Did you drug him? Is he drugged?" Ray's older brother instincts kicked in. 

"No, I'm just walking him home, I-" 

"What business do you have walking him home? Do I know you? Does he know you?"

Frank was in and out now. He caught bits of the conversation, and tried to get himself to snap out of it. 

Frank groggily said, "Ray, he's…." What was he going to say? This is kinda funny, he thought. He giggled. "He's my boyfriend." Frank kissed Gerard on the cheek. Gerard almost lost his cool. But he went along with it.

"Yeah. He hasn't eaten in a while and his blood sugar got a little low. I'm gonna make him some food." 

Ray was dumbfounded. He didn't know Frank was gay, much less that he had a boyfriend.

"Uh, yeah. Go ahead. I'm gonna go out." 

Gerard practically dragged Frank into the room. He handed Frank a box of cereal. "Here, eat this so you don't die. I'm gonna make you a sandwich." God, Gerard thought. His nerves were on fire. Burning beyond belief. 

Frank shakily took the cereal, but he just couldn't eat it. "Gerard," he said in a serious tone. "I can't eat this." 

"Why?"

Frank burst into tears. "I eat like a pig! Everyone who has ever seen me eat thinks of me that way! A dirty, greasy, fat pig!"

"Frank." Gerard said. He grabbed Frank's shoulder. "I've never thought of you that way. I really like you." Gerard immediately went red. Did he mean to say that?

Frank wiped his eyes. "Really? I'm not the biggest whale you've ever seen?"

"No! Of course not! Why would you even think that, Frank? You're not fat! And even if you were, I'd still like you!"

Frank looked down. "Thank you. I'm sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh this will get better i promise! quality wise aha, august writer me is WAY more developed than january me...im just posting the chapters i have written!! this is a lil embarrassing for me bc i dont like my old writing but its a good idea and i dont have the capacity to rewrite the whole thing aha...AAAA im rambling again anyways leave a comment they mean the world to me and are basically the only thing thats keeping me writing aha and i do notice the couple of you that leave comments all the time! its nice to see a familiar username thats kind and sweet to me and you arent going unnoticed...ANYWAY IM RAMBLING AGAIN IM GONNA GO NOW ILY


	3. confessions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank plays it off like nothing happens, but then confesses everything that did happen, and a whole lot more.

Frank skipped boxing the next day. He wasn't sure how to be normal with Gerard after what happened that night. 

He decided he was going to play it off like nothing happened, that he never kissed Gerard, that he never confessed his insecurities. He was going to pretend that he didn't remember. 

Ray came in early that morning. "So." He crossed his arms. "Why'd you never tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Who?"

Ray was even more confused. Was Frank delusional? "The guy with the long dyed red hair. I think he was wearing eyeliner?"

"Oh, Gerard? He's just my boxing coach. Why would you think he was my boyfriend?"

"Because you said he was. And you kissed him."

Frank did his best to look surprised. "I did? Damn, I must've been really out of it."

"Yeah, by the way, what was up with you? Gerald or whatever his name was said your blood sugar dropped. That's never happened to me, does it really do that to you? You seemed drunk."

"Yeah, I hadn't eaten all day. It does do that. I was close to having an ambulance called on me."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

\------

That next day, Frank gathered up the courage to go to the boxing class. His nerves were on fire, and he didn't know how he was going to even talk to Gerard.

He got into the room and wrapped his hands, but Gerard was nowhere to be found. He walked up to Mikey, Gerard's brother. He and Mikey had talked before, Mikey was Ray’s bandmate. Small world, I guess. "Hey, where's Gerard?"

Mikey panicked. "Uh...Gerard? He's...at home. Sick! He caught a cold." He was trying not to spill that Gerard had told him everything that happened. Gerard knew Frank was going to be there, and he needed to cool off. So he stayed at home. 

Frank looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Mikey, can we go in the office? I need to talk to you about something." Mikey knew exactly what. 

They walked into the office and Frank almost couldn't speak. "Gerard...he isn't home because of me, is he?" 

"Frank…"

"Just answer my question."

"He told me about everything that happened. He needed to "cool off." At least that's what he said."

Frank covered his face with his hands and groaned. "I wish I just would've eaten that day…"

"You're lucky though. If it were anyone but Gerard, you might've died. And if it were anyone but you, Gerard may not have helped." Mikey went white after saying that. Gerard and he were really close, and he knew he wasn't supposed to tell Frank that Gerard loved him. 

"What?"

"You're Gerard's favorite. That's all I mean. You haven't given him trouble." Saved.

"I don't think Gerard would let someone die because he disliked them. He's not that kind of person."

He was so lucky that Gerard was with him that night. Sometimes he just wished Gerard could be with him every night. Frank looked down. Was he really going to tell Mikey this?

"Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever kept a secret from your brother?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaahh i hate how non descriptive this writing is...i wish i could slap some sense into april me and idk put some colors in there?! i dont wanna rewrite tha whole thing tho i have school starting monday and i have 2 finish my summer reading and my mom took away my internet access so technically im not even supposed to be on here!! i jus..ughhhh i hav a lot of thingz goin on rn and im aaaaa im getting out of my depression funk bc im out so much school shopping so im in that weird mixed phase between depression and stable?! ahh im probably not gonna post as much cuz ill have school goin on for you know. like 10 months or whateva but im gonna do my best!!   
idk how to link thingz in notes but im sure this person will comment on this work, please go check out Yemo_Quartet 's fic "Please Don't Make Any Sudden Moves" they said it was their first ever fic and im like "WHAT!" bc its just so good and idk i had a good time reading it im sure you will too!! the author themself said that im becoming one of their favorite writers and after reading that i went "WHAT HOW??" cuz theyre so much better than me!! idk i shouldnt be comparing but like how am i one of your favorites?? you write like THAT!!  
aahhh im just rambling again but anyway 1. thank u 4 reading and 2. go check out their fic!!


	4. cold question.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey has an idea. Frank doesn't know how to deal with the question Gerard asks him.

Mikey walked into his dorm. He wanted to tell Gerard so badly, but he wasn't a bad friend. Just the fact that they loved each other, though. They had such a connection. 

Mikey was having a crisis. 

He spent the next day writing. He closed the boxing building, since Gerard wasn’t there and he was technically in charge, to write a song for his band. 

His band, Spiral of Numbers, consisted of Ray, the vocalist, Mikey, the bassist, Patrick, the guitarist, and Ryan, the drummer. They sang about several different topics, each song written by a different member of the band. They had gigs at bars and coffeeshops, but nothing bigger than that. In a few weeks, they had a bigger event at a festival, they were going to open for a more popular band. Gerard was already coming, but Mikey knew he had to invite Frank as well. 

This was going to be big. This was the way Mikey was going to show Frank and Gerard that they both loved each other. This was the way they were going to get together. 

He wrote the whole song relatively fast. He didn’t know why he shut down the class for the day for thirty whole minutes of songwriting. Whatever, he thought. 

_ Sometimes, you may laugh by his side. _

_ Sometimes, I may cry when you are oblivious. _

_ And when, the tears, they dry? _

_ Your daydreams,  _

_ They aren’t far from this.  _

_ And I know!  _

_ All your secrets! _

_ I wish I could tell. _

_ And then! _

_ You would be this! _

_ Everything would be well… _

_ But I can’t! _

_ Tell your secrets! _

_ I’m not a bad friend, but, _

_ Nothing would be far from this, _

_ And longing comes to end, oh. _

_ Sometimes, you may fall without him. _

_ Sometimes, he may cry to sleep without you by his side. _

_ He thinks it’s immature! (oh!) _

_ He thinks it’s immature! (oh!) _

_ But does he love you nonetheless? _

_ (Yes! Yes! Yes!)  _

_ Oh, I know! _

_ All your secrets! _

_ I wish I could tell. _

_ You could! _

_ You could be this! _

_ Why can’t it all be well? _

_ Why can’t I _

_ Tell your secrets? _

_ Cause I’m not a bad friend, but, _

_ Nothing really is far from this, _

_ Can longing come to end? _

That was the end of the song. Mikey was pretty proud of it. 

\------

Gerard was back at boxing the next day. He figured with the two days he’s had to cool off, he could face Frank again. 

He saw Frank’s little car pull up to the building. He felt his face redden, his heart flutter, and his stomach get infested with a swarm of butterflies. He couldn’t stop wondering about everything.

Why was the first excuse Frank thought about “boyfriend?” Has he thought about that before? If he was so comfortable kissing Gerard on the cheek that night, was he really as straight as Gerard thought he was? No, he was delirious at that time, don’t think that way-

“Hey, Gerard.”

Gerard almost went into shock. “Hey, Frank.”

“I’ll come to you when I’m done with shadowboxing. I still need to work on my jab, remember?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Frank shuffled away, put on his handwraps, and grabbed a jump rope. He really didn’t need to work on his jab. He had the jab down. He just needed to talk to Gerard while he was distracted. 

Once he had finished his second round of shadowboxing, Frank walked up to Gerard. Gerard tried to hide the fact that he was watching Frank the entire time. Frank was caught up with other things, so he didn’t notice. 

Gerard put on the mitts, and brought Frank into the ring. “So, jabs?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. One, two. Do that six times.”

Frank was on his third “one,” when he said, “Hey, Gerard? I’m really sorry about what happened the other night. I know it was uncalled for. I’m sorry.”

Shit, he thought. I’m over apologizing again.

Gerard was so caught off guard he forgot to give Frank a new set of punches. Frank kept doing the ones and twos. 

“I don’t know, Frank. It just got me thinking about...things.”

“What are ‘things?’”

“I’d rather talk to you about it when we aren’t here, Frank.”

“No, tell me. What things?”

Gerard’s mind was clouded with the sounds of Frank’s punches, Frank’s breathing with each punch, and the question he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask. 

“Frank...are you gay?”

Frank was so shocked by that, he missed the mitt. He hit Gerard instead, and knocked him out cold. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaahhh im not supposed to be using the internet rn but yano you find your ways...hehe


End file.
